CARDIOMYOPATHY

Cardiomyopathy Heart Muscle Disease

Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle where the heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick or rigid. As the condition worsens, the heart becomes weaker and less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a regular electrical rhythm. Other than that, a weakened heart also can cause other complications, such as heart valve problems. In turn, heart failure can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, ankles, feet, legs, or abdomen.

Besides, this disease is making your heart not work correctly, you may get symptoms like breathlessness, tiredness, and swelling in your legs and abdomen. Some people live long, healthy lives with cardiomyopathy. Some people don’t even realize they have it.

Cardiomyopathy causes and factors

Cardiomyopathy can have many causes. It may be caused by:

Long-term high blood pressure

Heart tissue damage from a heart attack

Chronic rapid heart rate

Heart valve problems

Metabolic disorders, such as obesity, thyroid disease or diabetes

Nutritional deficiencies of essential vitamins or minerals, such as thiamin

Pregnancy complications

Drinking too much alcohol over many years

Use of cocaine, amphetamines or anabolic steroids

Use of some chemotherapy drugs and radiation to treat cancer

Certain infections, especially those that inflame the heart

Iron buildup in your heart muscle

A disorder that causes the buildup of abnormal proteins

Connective tissue disorders

Major risk factors for cardiomyopathy

People of all ages and races can have cardiomyopathy. However, certain types of the disease are more common in certain groups. Certain diseases, conditions, or factors can raise your risk for cardiomyopathy. Major risk factors include:

A family history of cardiomyopathy, heart failure, or sudden cardiac arrest

Diseases that can damage the heart, such as hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis, or amyloidosis

Long-term alcoholism

Long-term high blood pressure

Cardiomyopathy can be acquired or inherited

“Acquired” means you are not carrying it since birth with the disease, but you receive it due to another illness, shape, or factor. Next, “inherited” means your parents passed the gene for the disease on to you. Many times, the cause of Cardiomyopathy isn’t known.

There is Cardiomyopathy heart muscle disease like heart attacks, high blood pressure, infections, and other conditions can all cause cardiomyopathy. Treatment might involve medicines, surgery, other medical procedures, and lifestyle changes.

Cardiomyopathy symptoms

Signs and symptoms tend to get worse unless treated. In some people, the condition worsens quickly; in others, it might not worsen for a long time. There might be no signs or symptoms in the early stages of cardiomyopathy. But as the condition advances, signs and symptoms usually appear, including:

Breathlessness with exertion or even at rest

Swelling of the legs, ankles and feet

Bloating of the abdomen due to fluid buildup

Coughing while lying down

Fatigue

Heartbeats that feel rapid, pounding or fluttering

Chest discomfort or pressure

Dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting

Cardiomyopathy treatments

Treatment depends on the type of the disease. The main goals are to:

Control symptoms

Prevent it from getting worse

Reduce complications of cardiomyopathy

Manage conditions that contribute to cardiomyopathy

Treatment varies depending on how damaged your heart is due to cardiomyopathy and the resulting symptoms. Some people may not require treatment until symptoms appear. Others who are beginning to struggle with breathlessness or chest pain may need to make some lifestyle adjustments or take medications. You can control it with some of the following options:

Heart-healthy lifestyle changes

Medications, including those used to treat high blood pressure, prevent water retention, keep the heart beating with a normal rhythm, prevent blood clots, and reduce inflammation.

Heart-healthy lifestyle changes

Be smoke-free

Limit alcohol: Alcohol can damage your heart

Eat less salt because salt causes your body to retain fluid, which can build up and put more strain on your heart.

Do regular light to moderate intensity physical activity:

Try to do some type of physical activity, such as going for a walk, cycling, lifting light weights and stretching, every day

Do what you can without getting breathless or overtired. You should be able to talk easily while doing physical activity

Talk to your doctor about the type and level of physical activity that is suitable for you. Avoid strenuous activities unless your doctor has approved them

Medications

Many medications are used to treat cardiomyopathy. Your doctor may prescribe medications to:

Remove excess fluid and sodium from your body. Diuretics, or “water pills,” are an example of a medicine that helps remove excess fluid and sodium from the body

Prevent blood clots from forming. Anticoagulants, or “blood thinners,” are an example of a medicine that prevents blood clots

Reduce inflammation

Surgery for Cardiomyopathy

Several types of surgery are used to treat cardiomyopathy. They include septal myectomy, implanted devices to help the heart work better and heart transplant.

y

Septal Myectomy -

Septal myectomy is open-heart surgery. This surgery generally is used for younger patients and for people whose medicines aren’t working well. A surgeon removes part of the thickened septum that’s bulging into the left ventricle. This improves blood flow through the heart and out to the body.

y

Surgically Implanted Devices -

Surgeons can place several types of devices in the heart to help it work better. One example is a pacemaker, a small device that’s placed under the skin of your chest or abdomen to help control arrhythmias. It uses electrical pulses to prompt the heart to beat at a normal rate.

y

Heart Transplant -

This is a surgery to replace a person’s diseased heart with a healthy heart from a deceased donor. A heart transplant is a last resort treatment for people who have end-stage heart failure. “End-stage” means the condition has become so severe that all treatments, other than the heart transplant, have failed.

y

Nonsurgical Procedure -

Doctors may use a nonsurgical procedure called alcohol septal ablation to treat cardiomyopathy. Your doctor injects ethanol through a tube into the small artery that supplies blood to the thickened area of heart muscle. The alcohol kills cells, and the thickened tissue shrinks to a more normal size. This allows blood to flow freely through the ventricle, which improves symptoms.

Who can help you

Contact our Life Insurance Planner who is familiar with the costs involved in different hospitals. Get in touch with us to understand the insurance coverage.
Be advised correctly. Call us today at +6012 684 0948.

Cardiomyopathy is the name for diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal. Heart attacks, high blood pressure, infections, and other diseases can all cause cardiomyopathy. Some types of cardiomyopathy run in families. Get Protection with Red Cover today.

Levine Lee is an expert AIA insurance agent and life planner. She has over 12 years of working experience with AIA and ING Insurance as an insurance agent and life planner.This makes her efficient and effective to manage clients for AIA Group Insurance Plans, AIA Life Insurance and AIA Takaful policies.Based in the Klang Valley in Malaysia, Levine serves her customers all over Malaysia, as they move between cities because of job changes.